Working from home isn’t just a staffer’s endeavor. Maybe you’re embarking on a startup business, or you’ve been forced to take your work home with you due to the pandemic. Whatever the case, if you’re feeling out of sorts when working with your TV so tantalizingly close by, take a look at our guide to running a business from home.
Manage your management
Running a business already gives you a million different spinning plates to manage. To do it from home will feel like an additional obstacle when it needn’t be.
There are applications online that will, if not streamline or aid management, outright take management tasks off your hands. For example, there is software out there designed to handle asset maintenance management called Computer Aided Facilities Management, also known as CAFM, so that you can handle your organization’s buildings and staff from your computer.
There are also applications designed to distribute and manage staff benefits from your device, send out automated emails to customers, manage team projects and day-to-day activities: anything that can be automated should be. It will cut time and costs so that you don’t need to pay specific staffers to deal with these issues and so that you and staff can focus on direct customer engagement.
Create a positive work environment
Creating an environment to work from can be as simple as sitting a laptop on your knee and getting to it, but often, the process one goes through to get ready for work and the environment they’re in will get them in the headspace to work, without the distractions home life gives.
If you’re finding yourself having trouble thinking, experiment. If working from your bed with a laptop isn’t working, buy a desk, or try the dining table. Is it too quiet without worker chitchat? Have the TV on in the background, or play music, or even white noise.
Carve out an area of your home that is dedicated to working, so that your head knows that is what you’re doing the second you enter. Also, think about your health. Make sure your chair is fit for sitting for a majority of the day without giving you backache. A garden chair isn’t going to be comfy after 10 minutes, for example. Make sure your lighting isn’t too bright or dim, or that looking at a computer screen all day is causing eye strain. If you can, face the window to gain some natural light and boost your mood.
Take marketing online
Digital marketing is an advancement that is not being taken advantage of enough. The reach that online marketing has is so much further than traditional media could dream of.
Crucially, online media allows for customer engagement where customers can offer advice on what they would like to see from your product or feedback on how it could improve.
But be sure to do your research. Take a class that will cover click-tracking, SEO, keyword research, affiliate links and every other aspect so that you can get it right and skyrocket your business.
